Friend Wanted
by Zoe Rebecca
Summary: Barry is a young man with a difficult life. However, all of that changes when he gets one of the most unexpected of friends...


**I do not own Pokémon, Game Freak, or any other companies. If I did, Ash would be long gone by now, and most likely replaced by Red, as well.**

"H-hey! Stop that!"

Barry was batting at an older, taller boy as he threw punches at him. Barry dodged them to the best of his ability, though he knew well he wouldn't last much longer if somebody didn't come to help him. The fact that these older boy's lackeys were surrounding Barry in a circle and trapping him in that situation only make him feel more hopeless.

This was what it was like every day. Upon arriving at school, Barry would be mocked and teased without remorse, beaten up both verbally and physically. It was a struggle to make it to each weekend, though really, those weren't any better.

The older boy, in which Barry had found out went by the name of Charlie, sent him down to the cold, icy winter concrete of the sidewalk outside of the school. It was regular for Barry to beat up by people in whom he hardly knew. "Help!" Barry cried out finally.

Charlie smugly grinned. "What a chicken," he laughed, glancing around at the group that had formed around the two boys, "…Am I right?" They all nodded, some out of fear, and some out of actual agreement. The older boy kicked Barry in the side, making him yelp.

"You should slaughter 'em, Charlie!" One of the boys to his left yelled. Charlie stared at the boy, nodding with an evil grin forming on his face. "Yeah…" Charlie began, "I should."

The crowd whooped and applauded as Charlie sent another kick into Barry's side. Barry rolled a few inches, trying in vain to escape.

Charlie picked up Barry by his dirty shirt collar. Barry blinked, consciousness slowly fading away. The bigger boy got close up to Barry, an evil smirk on his face. "Now…" Charlie hissed, "Any…last words?"

_"You won't kill me," _Barry muttered, tears forming in his eyes, _"You can't. You'll get arrested."_

"Do you think that bothers me?" Charlie asked. Barry gulped for a moment, and then mumbled out, _"You have to be afraid of something, right?"_

Charlie shook his head, faking a sad smile. "You have the nerve to call me afraid? I guess I'll just have to bury that lie with you." Charlie threw the blonde boy into a few of his friends in the back of the crowd. The crowd got rowdy as they began to push, shove, and fight over who got to hurt the boy next.

"HEY!" A voice from behind hollered. A few boys' eyes darted to a man jogging over to the fight. "Get away from him!"

The boys unhanded Barry. He fell to the ground, panting. "Get away from him, this instant!" the man demanded. A majority of Charlie's group dashed off.

Charlie lingered for a moment, glaring down at Barry. He went to say something, but simply shook his fist and followed behind his friends.

Barry sniffled a bit, glancing up into the afternoon winter sun. A figure blocked it, waving a hand in front of him. "Are you alright?" The man examined Barry.

The boy simply let out a cough. "H-how'd you see me?" Barry said, his voice faint. The man sighed. "I could tell what was going on. Charlie has quite the mouth on him, don't you think?"

Barry chuckled softly, pain rushing through his side. _"Here," _the man said, _"let me get you to the office." _He helped the blonde boy up. _"Come 'on, now," _the man said, _"Let's go."_

...

The school nurse walked out of her office. "It's nothing too serious. Thank Arceus." The man, leaned up against the wall, heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. He looked pretty beat-up after those boys were done with him." He rubbed at his forehead. "You know…" The nurse said, a small smile forming on her face, "From what I know of, this boy has yet to be in your class and is an excellent artist." The man's eyes went a bid wider. "Ah, so he is?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting." Lenora, a Social Studies teacher, beamed. "Yes, sir, and I believe the two of you will get along well." The man crossed his arms, smirking. "We just might."

The two women in the room smiled. "Might? More like you will." The nurse laughed, "and trust me when I say, you will, and well."

Barry lay in the other room, listening to the three of them talk. _Does…does this mean I have a friend? _He thought. The last time he had had a friend was way back when he lived in Sinnoh, and that was so long ago it was hard to remember. At least, that was how he felt.

...

That night, Barry was restless, tossing his torn-up blanket back and forth as thoughts of friends filled his mind. _Finally, _he knew, _he wouldn't be alone anymore._

(Sorry for such a short first chapter. I'll try to make them longer in the future! Hopefully you enjoyed reading this. Expect to see the second chapter...a long time from now. x'D Bye!)


End file.
